Kory Judd has ascended the ranks of Chevron for 27 years, and now he takes over the Richmond refinery at a crossroads in its 100-plus year history. Here is a closer look at Judd and his views on some of the key issues facing the refinery.

Kory Judd

Title: General manager of Chevron’s Richmond refinery

Age: 53

Family: Married, five children

Experience: 27 years with Chevron

Education: Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, University of Utah

On the refinery’s modernization project: “Any large industrial project will have skeptics and those that challenge it, and we have to listen and be considerate of those concerns.”

On the investigation conducted by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, which was critical of Chevron’s safety failures: “I am generally complimentary of their effort to work with us and maintain their objectivity.”

On first learning of the Aug. 6 fire: “I was in San Ramon, on the supply chain side on that event. My first thought was ‘Are people safe?’ I was concerned about the well-being of friends and colleagues and hopeful that the impacts on the community were small. It wasn’t long after that I had transitioned to how can we make sure this never happens again.”

On improving safety: “The industry and community have become much more sensitive to incidents, and rightly so. Zero (incidents) is attainable.”

On personal life: “I have five children and six grandkids. They consume a fair amount of time. My wife and I are pretty active in supporting our kids. They grew up playing soccer and baseball. My wife and I hike in the mountains, fish in streams, go to church. I play guitar.”

On refinery operations and a long-sought modernization project: “Crude flexibility is important to us. There are sound ways to ensure you can (refine a variety of crude products) safely. We can achieve lower emissions through technology, but we have to be more thoughtful about the concerns that came up the first time we proposed our refinery modernization. We have to be very transparent about what the project is going to be and how it will benefit the community.”

On the city and the refinery: “The history of Chevron includes Richmond. Richmond and Chevron are intertwined. That presents great opportunities and great challenges. What I have always enjoyed about Richmond is the diversity of thought.”

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